"Local governments need to take immediate mitigation and prepare actions. Agricultural land is at risk of experiencing crop failure due to the lack of water supply during the plant growth phase," Karnawati noted in Jakarta on Friday.
The agency head remarked that El Niño and IOD phenomena have the potential to disrupt national food security.
However, in the fisheries sector, changes in sea temperature and current patterns during the El Niño and cooling Positive IOD phenomena usually have the potential to increase fish catches, she noted.
"Opportunities from this condition must be seized because it can support national food security," Karnawati emphasized.
She noted that the El Niño and Positive IOD phenomena reinforce one another, so this year's dry season can be even drier, with lower rainfall in the low to very low category.
If rainfall is usually around 20 mm per day, then in the dry season, this condition can occur once a month or even the case of no rain at all, she stated.
According to Karnawati, the peak of this dry season is forecast to occur in August to early September, with drier conditions than in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Based on BMKG's observation, the El Niño index in July had reached 1.01 at a moderate level, while the IOD has entered a positive index level.
Karnawati remarked that from June to July 10, El Niño is still at a weak level, so the impact has not been felt. However, after that period, El Niño and Positive IOD, with a global occurrence and long time period, could occur stronger at the same time for several months.
"In that time span, some parts of Indonesia were still showered with rain due to the dynamics of the regional atmosphere that had been brief. Therefore, the influence of El Niño had not been felt significantly," she explained.
Related news: Prepare for strengthening El Nino impact, BMKG head warns
Related news: Bapanas to develop food early warning system to counter El Nino
Related news: BULOG has 750 thousand tons of rice to handle El Niño's impacts
Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
